The Power of Focus

I had heard a lot about Cal Newport’s new book “Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World” and how it was well worth reading so I decided to pick up a copy. Since I have started reading it I have realised the advice that I was given was spot on. It is a very interesting book with some outstanding insights. In fact it motivated me to write this blog so it has worked wonders already!

The key takeaway for me is the concept of “Deep Work” and particularly
the benefits of it. We are all guilty of flipping between various tasks and
doing things like scrolling through social media when we should be working on
one task. This is even harder if it’s something we don’t like doing or look
forward to. While Deep Work is not necessarily suited for everyone for the vast
majority of us we should look to introduce it into our lives. Newport shows the
benefits of focusing solely on one task for a long period of time and
allocating certain periods solely for work on one area. What I have noticed in
Culture is that so many of our members say to me that when they come into the co-working space they get so much more work done here than
at home and they are able to focus more on what they need to get done.

Even as a child growing up when you actually spend time and focus on what you were doing the results were better, whether this was your homework or studying for an exam. With so many distractions now in life we have possibly forgotten this. Deep Work isn’t easy and it requires work and effort to be put in but that is the case with everything in life. If you keep working at something you will get better at it and your performance will improve. As the comedian Eddie Cantor said “It takes 20 years to be an overnight success”. By introducing the concept of Deep Work into your life it should help you move towards where you want to be.